Tire shop didn't tighten my lug nuts..so the wheel fell off on the freeway

[Thelegendl23]

I was 5 miles and 20 minutes from this tire shop.. I had not even driven the full 5 miles yet when it happened.

Long story short they replaced what was damaged with parts and I installed everything. Just the rotor and lug studs and a fender and the rim...

Anyways, the issue now seems to be the front of the truck seems a bit loose... like a wet noodle? No knocks or clanks just at 80 you feel it and it never did it before.. my shocks have worn bushings I see and the truck has 90k, any ideas? I lifted the truck up and I don't feel and movement and nothing else appears damaged. Its a 15 2500.. hemi if that matters not sure if its different than a diesel.

 

[HAL9001]

Never trust a tire shop to properly tighten the lug nuts. I got a flat near Washington DC. I had Pep Boys replace all four tires as they were worn anyway. Then I drove 600 miles back home. When I got back, all the locking lug nuts were gone and several others were finger-loose. It's a wonder I didn't lose a wheel.

 

[Thelegendl23]

Never trust a tire shop to properly tighten the lug nuts. I got a flat near Washington DC. I had Pep Boys replace all four tires as they were worn anyway. Then I drove 600 miles back home. When I got back, all the locking lug nuts were gone and several others were finger-loose. It's a wonder I didn't lose a wheel.

Agreed.. now I need to figure out what the issue is before I just start throwing parts at it.. not sure If it took a ball joint with it?

 

[TxBURLEY]

bearing/ hub assembly?

 

[PoMansRam]

If you just had new/different tires put on the truck, that could cause the handling/feel you describe at 80mph. I guess I don't get out much. If I hit 80, it's not for long.

 

[lpennock]

Never trust a tire shop to properly tighten the lug nuts. I got a flat near Washington DC. I had Pep Boys replace all four tires as they were worn anyway. Then I drove 600 miles back home. When I got back, all the locking lug nuts were gone and several others were finger-loose. It's a wonder I didn't lose a wheel.

Lugs are supposed to be retorqued after about 50 miles. What you experienced is why.

Sent from my SM-T500 using Tapatalk

 

[HAL9001]

Lugs are supposed to be retorqued after about 50 miles. What you experienced is why.

Sent from my SM-T500 using Tapatalk

How many people actually do that after they have a tire mounted? Almost no one.

I don't think that excuses them. I've never had lug nuts fall off of my wheels whenever I installed a tire for the last 40 years. I'm certain they did not properly tighten them at all.

 

[oe542bob]

My last trip to a “tire shop” ended up with messed up lug nuts. When I do rotate tires, I always make sure to start every lug nut by hand. The tire shop just stuck them on the stud and ran them on with an impact gun.
I replaced 4 and ended up buying a tap to chase the threads on most of the other nuts.

 

[Thelegendl23]

Lugs are supposed to be retorqued after about 50 miles. What you experienced is why.

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Uh yeah.. about that.. I was 5 miles away.. it had been only 20 minutes. They showed up to the scene in 20 minutes and immediately wanted the vin and started ordering parts... I guess that's why they paid to replace.. the wheel hub seems good? Wouldn't it make noise?

 

[wallacemf]

I just had 4 new tires mounted on my 2018 2500 at my dealer, since they have a road force balancer. I’ve gotten into the habit of checking each lug before I even leave their facility, just because I’ve seen this happen before.

They also opened my tailgate onto a tool tray or something and dented it. Denied any responsibility for that, of course, the ********. Almost every time I take my truck to a dealer, it leaves with damage that was not there before. So ********* sick of it, it’s why I try to do everything myself, even though I’m under warranty.

As a side note, this kind of **** NEVER happens when we take my wife’s Honda into the dealer. You and your property are treated with respect there.

 

[WY-Dave]

I just had 4 new tires mounted on my 2018 2500 at my dealer, since they have a road force balancer. I’ve gotten into the habit of checking each lug before I even leave their facility, just because I’ve seen this happen before.

They also opened my tailgate onto a tool tray or something and dented it. Denied any responsibility for that, of course, the ********. Almost every time I take my truck to a dealer, it leaves with damage that was not there before. So ********* sick of it, it’s why I try to do everything myself, even though I’m under warranty.

As a side note, this kind of **** NEVER happens when we take my wife’s Honda into the dealer. You and your property are treated with respect there.

I never had any issues at my dealer, but I always atleast wand wash it before. And when I am there, before they take it inside. I do a photo shoot.

 

[GsRAM]

How many people actually do that after they have a tire mounted? Almost no one.

I don't think that excuses them. I've never had lug nuts fall off of my wheels whenever I installed a tire for the last 40 years. I'm certain they did not properly tighten them at all.

This exactly. I never retorque my lug nuts and have never had any come loose to date and that's over 30 years of spinning wrenches. The OPs came off because they weren't tightened properly from the beginning.

. I do install them and then torque them to spec with a torque wrench and if its done by others I always break torque at home and retorque myself so I know they are all the same.

Helps keep brake rotors happy also.

 

[GsRAM]

How many people actually do that after they have a tire mounted? Almost no one.

I don't think that excuses them. I've never had lug nuts fall off of my wheels whenever I installed a tire for the last 40 years. I'm certain they did not properly tighten them at all.

Gotta say also HAL, I just love your avatar. We are from the same era. Those movies were such classics. I loved them, but I am a big si-fi guy. I love star trek, (all of them but the original series will always be my favorite) star wars, etc. All great stuff!

 

[mtofell]

Lugs are supposed to be retorqued after about 50 miles. What you experienced is why.

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I've heard this on new vehicles but have never been told this by any tire shop or heard it elsewhere.

 

[PaulTGarrett]

I've had just the opposite problem... I had a tire shop overtighten the lugs after a tire rotation. A few weeks later I caught a nail in one of the front tires. I broke a SnapOn breaker bar because I couldn't get the lugs loose and stuck an 8' piece of pipe on the breaker as an extension. I ended up having to call a wrecker and having the truck towed to a truck stop where they had the really big boy impact wrenches. Once they got the lugs off, over half the studs had been stretched and the lugs had been so badly mushroomed that they were trash. We checked every wheel and it was the same. I ended up replacing all 32 studs and lugs and wasted two days to get the repairs done. I went back to the tire shop (that I had been dealing with for over 20 years) and gave the Service Manager a piece of my mind... Next time I get some tire service done, I'm going to bring a cheater bar and torque wrench to check the lugs. If I can't break the lugs with a 4-way or the cheater bar, someone is going to get that 4-way up their ass...

 

[Treburkulosis]

Too OP there is nothing scarier then watching a wheel fly off. I had a wheel spacer adapter do this. It shocks me as tight as they tend to over tighten them. I’ve had ones if I had a flat even as strong as I am might not be able to get off. A impact isn’t needed. Gone are the days of a 4 way and knowing when it’s tight. The impact doesn’t do spec and I would rather rely on my strength and a 4 way vs an impact. And yes I still carry a jack and 4 way in all our vehicles.

 

[HEMIMANN]

I had my medium duty truck chassis (Chevy Kodiak 5500) in for brake overhaul at a well known truck service place. Yep - they didn't tighten / torque the nuts.

This is inexcusable lack of service - IDK if they sluff off the setup and teardown work to inexperienced people - it is their responsibility to ensure the vehicle service is completed before handoff to customers. Is it any wonder why so many of us try to do most of the maintenance work ourselves now?

 

[bcbouy]

i always tell the dealer/tire shop to NOT tighten my lugs with an impact after one shop destroyed my locking lug key and now i make sure i'm watching when the do it.i almost lost a rear tire on my sidexside because the mechanic forgot to torque it before giving it back.i was fortunate to check all of them before i took it out.all 4 lug nuts on the drivers rear were finger tight.

 

[Treburkulosis]

I had my medium duty truck chassis (Chevy Kodiak 5500) in for brake overhaul at a well known truck service place. Yep - they didn't tighten / torque the nuts.

This is inexcusable lack of service - IDK if they sluff off the setup and teardown work to inexperienced people - it is their responsibility to ensure the vehicle service is completed before handoff to customers. Is it any wonder why so many of us try to do most of the maintenance work ourselves now?

We have a Kodiak as well. Does yours have that dumb parking brake? We have had all kinds of issues over the years with the axle seals failing.

 

[HEMIMANN]

We have a Kodiak as well. Does yours have that dumb parking brake? We have had all kinds of issues over the years with the axle seals failing.

I don't know. I haven't had a seal fail 46,000 miles, 2004 build date. C5500.